Finding Ford

chapter fourteen

"If you were human, if you were who I assumed you were, you wouldn't have done this." -The Neighbourhood, $ting.

 

"OKAY," LUCAS SAYS, PUTTING DOWN HIS SANDWICH, "WHAT the hell did I do wrong?"

At this, everyone looks up. Except for me. Which causes for Lucas to reach over the lunch table to knock on the table a couple of times until I finally look up and give him my attention. "Yes?" I ask.

"You've been looking at me like I cut up your dog and then ate it all day," he says. "Was it something I said? Ava."

I shake my head quickly- maybe a little too quickly. "No, you didn't do anything!"

"You're hiding something," Lucas states, and suddenly, our whole lunch table is quiet. "You're not a very good liar, Ava. Look, whatever I said, I'm sorry, okay? But just so you know," Lucas' eyes take a darker turn, "Secrets always come out eventually, whether you want them to or not."

My throat goes dry. "Why would you say that?"

"I have a feeling you didn't get 'lost' for those past two days," Lucas states, voice neutral, and I can't help but search for the hidden venom underneath his words because God, things are just falling into place, and it's scaring me. If Lucas is really the one writing those death threats, then he wrote that letter to me, and that's why he's interrogating me now, and that's why he wanted to see my reaction to those words.

"Where else would I have gone?" I try to keep my voice from shaking as best as I can. "You agreed yourself when I told you; I always get lost."

"Yeah, and after that conversation you've been avoiding me like a plague."

"Get over yourself, Charleson," I say, spitting the words at him, which takes the whole table by surprise.

"Okay," Jas interjects. "Break it up, girls."

I'm angry, though. Standing up from the table, I all but storm out of the cafeteria. And yeah, maybe it's childish. But I've been through so much these past couple of days, and my patience has worn thin. Although some things are falling in place, the things that just aren't are leaving me more frustrated than ever. I take a few deep breaths once I'm in the hallway, trying to keep myself from exploding.

Surprisingly, the next person to walk out into the hall is James.

He looks concerned, slowly approaching me. "Ava, what's going on?" he asks. I shake my head at him, and he squeezes my shoulder. "What happened those days you were gone? You know Lucas didn't mean to upset you, but we all know you're hiding something from us."

I furrow my eyebrows. James Racer, the boy made of muscle, leather jackets and dark everything, being compassionate isn't something to be seen everyday. But he actually seems concerned, like me being upset honestly turns him empathetic.

"I'm not hiding anything," I say, trying to keep any emotion out of my voice to give me away. "Seriously, just leave me alone. I haven't been feeling myself lately."

James frowns, squeezing my shoulder one last time before he lets go. "Alright. Just remember what Lucas said; secrets always come out eventually, whether you want them to or not."

x

I don't want to spend anymore time in Cailbridge- everywhere I go, I'm just looking over my shoulder, expecting someone to jump me from behind. I'm planning on visiting Ford tonight, but before I can do that, there's a promise I made to him I have to fulfill. Visiting his dad.